Iran's Revolutionary Guard launches 2nd satellite: Reports

Noor means “light” in Farsi. The Guard launched its first Noor satellite in 2020

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched a second reconnaissance satellite into space, state media reported on Tuesday, just as world powers awaited Tehran's decision in negotiations over the country's tattered nuclear deal.

State television identified the launch as taking place in its northeastern Shahroud Desert, without specifying when.

However, it came as Iran's top diplomat at the monthslong talks suddenly flew home late on Monday for consultations, a sign of the growing pressure on Tehran as the negotiations appear to be nearing their end.

The Guard said the Noor-2 satellite reached a low orbit of 500 kilometers (310 miles) above the Earth's surface on the Ghased satellite carrier, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It described the Ghased, or "Messenger" in Farsi, as a three-phase, mixed fuel satellite carrier.

“It is a great achievement that we can put our eyes in the sky again and look at the Earth from space,” said Guard Gen. Hossein Salami, according to IRNA.

The Guard did not immediately release photos or video of the launch. However, authorities already had begun receiving signals from the satellite as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes, IRNA quoted Iranian Information and Communications Technology Minister Isa Zarepour as saying.

U.S. officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment and an American-maintained catalogue of space objects did not note a new Iranian launch this month.